35. Balsam – Meaning Ardent love Impatience Waiting is difficult for me to do
35
BALSAM
(BANG SEED, JEWELWEED, POP WEED, SNAPWEED, TOUCH-ME-NOT)
MEANING: ARDENT LOVE; IMPATIENCE; WAITING IS DIFFICULT FOR ME TO DO
OCEAN
________
I ’d never seen so many flowers in my life, and I was a fucking florist. The flower auction was exactly as cool and overwhelming as I imagined it would be. And by the time we were finished and piling into the back of a sleek black car, I was exhausted. There’d been some sleep on the plane, but it was still a total time shift.
Curling myself toward Cameron and leaning my head on his shoulder, I closed my eyes. “Where now?”
“Venisi,” he said. “It’s only an hour by car, and we’ll be there for a couple of days. And if you’re okay with it?—”
“I’m okay with pretty much anything,” I said through a yawn.
He laughed quietly. “Good to know, sweetheart. We were going to come here next month for the Extasis product launch. We have a big party, a bunch of celebrities come for the exposure. Red carpet, the whole thing. Since we wanted to bring you here anyway, we thought, why not? We moved it to tonight, but we don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”
Extasis. Their sex toy company. I already had several toys from their line, but I wasn’t going to tell them that. At least not until we got home and they saw them firsthand.
My eyes widened. “You’re taking me to a sex toy party?”
A low growl came from across the car. “We’re taking you to a party about sex toys. No one will be using them at the party,” Everett said. “Nobody gets to see that but us.”
My whole body sizzled with heat. I hadn’t meant that, but the possessiveness in Everett not wanting to share me with anyone else made me feel things.
“You were okay with people hearing me,” I teased.
His eyes blazed with heat. “Hearing? Fine. Let them listen to me make my wife come. But if they take even one look?—”
I smirked. “You’ll kill them?”
“You’re getting to know me so well.”
Shaking my head, I leaned on Cam’s shoulder. “Did we pack things for this kind of party?”
“We have people who will meet us with clothes.”
“Even for me?”
Cameron turned my face to his. He smiled, but his eyes were serious. “Did you think we wouldn’t include you in that? Of course, sweetheart.”
The fact that it was a given . I sighed and nuzzled further into his shoulder. Then I froze. “This will be the first time we’re in public together. Are you sure you want it to be at a sex toy party?”
“I very much want it to be that,” Micah said. “I don’t think there’s anything better than showing the world how much we love our wife. And that we can use any way to pleasure her.”
I was glad the divider was up between us and the driver, because the air was suddenly flooded with my perfume. Cameron pulled me in, holding me. “Sleep, wife. Take a nap before we ravish you in the car and the driver hears us too. We’ll be there soon.”
How the fuck was I supposed to sleep now when they’d put that vision in my head? But Cam’s purr soaked through me, relaxing me so quickly that I slipped under, savoring the sound.
“Wake up, princess.”
I opened my eyes to fresh air brushing my cheeks. The door to the car was open, and Micah held his hand out for mine. It hadn’t been that long, but fuck, that was a good nap. I supposed jet lag would do that to you.
As soon as I stepped out of the car I forgot all about sleep. The surrounding city was old and beautiful. Cobblestone stretched behind us with tall buildings that looked like they were older than the world, and in front of us spread water that led into the canals of Venisi. An older city that was built on the water, with bridges everywhere and boats with men who would sing to you as you rode.
A boat waited for us, but it was a regular, motorized kind, to get across the substantial water between us and the sea-soaked portion of the city.
Gray clouds pooled in the sky, threatening rain, but it was beautiful and moody and I felt a profound sense of peace. “It’s beautiful.”
“Yes. It is.”
I looked at Micah and found his eyes looking nowhere near the view. They were entirely focused on me. Just me.
He laced our fingers together and gently tugged me toward the boat, Cam, and Rett. “Come on.”
Micah held me against the railings as we rode, the spray from the water misting us both. It was a little foggy, the ancient buildings appearing like ghosts out of the air.
The atmosphere was at once eerie and soothing, though that seemed impossible.
As we entered the canals and grew closer to the center, more people walked along the canals. There was press everywhere. Bright lights and a red carpet. “That’s where we’re going?”
“Close,” Micah said. “We’re in the hotel behind it.”
We pulled up minutes later to a set of stone steps, brightly lit, music playing, and uniformed employees who rushed down to grab our bags and help us out of the boat.
I didn’t speak the language, but my head snapped up when Everett spoke fluently. He smirked when he saw me and pulled me to his side. “What’s that look?”
“That’s just… really hot.”
He laughed and kissed me. Not just kissed me, but kissed me. In front of all the employees, the people milling around the lobby, and anyone passing by. Everett kissed me like he was going to lay me out on the floor and fuck me right here, and I couldn’t bring myself to care about anything other than his lips on mine.
The blended scent of us sharpened. “Fuck,” he murmured. “We should have planned the party for tomorrow.”
“Lesson learned,” I whispered.
“You’re exactly right, little nymph. No more parties. We’ll only stay home with you from now on.”
“ No .” I smacked his arm. “That’s not what I meant.”
He shrugged. “But it’s what I heard.”
I startled as I saw someone taking photos of us together. “Is that all right?”
Everett glared at the photographer, but sighed. “No, it’s not. But with the launch, there’s not much we can do except get upstairs.”
It took me a second to realize it was the same photographer who’d found me at brunch. He’d come all the way here? Since this was a giant launch it was public knowledge. Still, it felt strange to be followed across the world.
None of them seemed worried about our bags, and we were in the tiniest elevator I’d ever seen going to the top floor. It was so small I was pressed up against every one of them, and they took advantage of it. I was drunk on the way they touched me, hands roaming under my shirt and dipping into the waistband of my pants.
“Okay,” I finally managed, inhaling them. “I’m starting to agree with no parties.”
The elevator doors opened to bustling chaos. There was no hallway. We simply stepped into a luxurious suite filled with people. Racks of clothing and bright mirrors and lights. It reminded me of Ellie’s wedding and the time Trinity hired a makeup artist for Isolde.
A woman with wild, curly hair ran up to us. “Good, you’re here. Miss Caldwell, we need to get started on your makeup and make sure your dress is to your liking.”
“I—”
Everett stepped forward and brought me with him. “We need a moment with our wife. She’ll be right back.”
They surrounded me on all sides and swept me into the bedroom. Fuck, that was an incredible bed. Huge, it took up half the space, tucked into the walls. No space around the edges. Just a giant place to cuddle and sleep.
The windows were arched, looking over one of the canals. Late afternoon sun finally peeked through the clouds and began turning the water to a beautiful teal. This place was beautiful. Everything with them was beautiful.
“I’m sorry, princess,” Micah turned me toward him, Everett stepping in behind me with his hands on my hips. “I didn’t realize how chaotic this would be.”
I smiled at him. “Why are you sorry?”
“Because this is our honeymoon. This is for you and all of us. And I hate that you might be overwhelmed, and the fact that I can’t pin you to the bed right this fucking second.”
My laugh bubbled in my chest. Not at him, and possibly because I was still sleepy, but because it was sweet. Looping my arms around his neck, I pulled his lips to mine. The words begging to come out had been a long time coming, but the vulnerability still made my stomach twist with nerves. “I’ve been hiding for a long time. Because almost everyone in my life— hell, everyone in the world , told me I wasn’t worth seeing. You’ve never said that. Not once. All three of you make me feel…”
I shook my head, not able to fully describe how they offered me strength I never knew I had. “Does being seen and photographed and witnessed make me nervous? Yes. I won’t pretend it doesn’t. Because the world doesn’t want to see me. But if you’re willing to have me with you while the world sees all of us, then I’m willing to do it.”
My breath wavered, the rest of it coming out in a shaky wave. I didn’t truly own the confidence of those words, but for them, I wanted to try. They would protect me, and I never knew how much I’d needed it.
“You’re incredible,” Cam murmured, while he kissed my hair from beside me. Rett squeezed my hips, and Micah stared at me with both awe and pride.
“After tonight,” he said, “we’re all yours and only yours. Promise. And fuck yes, I want you by my side, princess. I want the entire damn world to see my wife. Our Omega.”
I shoved away any dark thoughts about timing and how long we would last. And I opened my mouth to say something that was entirely forgotten when I saw a steamer trunk on the floor near the bed. It wasn’t an antique. It was a royal purple color with gold embellishments. “What is that?”
“It’s a set of everything from the Extasis launch.” Cameron strode over and heaved the lid open, displaying it with a dramatic gesture.
“Holy crap.”
It was like a sex store in a box, and everything was that matching purple and gold, looking slick and gorgeous. Anything you could ever want, from the intimidating wand vibrator on the very top of the box to the dildos I spotted peeking out of the bottom.
“See something you like, sweetheart?” Cameron whispered the words in my ear. “Because you, me, and some of these toys seem like a dream come true.”
I looked at him and said nothing, just letting the images spin out of control in my mind. Him and me, tangled, and him using whatever he wanted. A shudder worked its way through me, and Cameron grinned. “Unless you haven’t used any toys?”
The look I gave him had him laughing. “I’m thirty and up until now have been chronically single. What do you think?”
“I think I like your sassy side, sweetheart. But now I need to know if you have any of our toys at home.”
“No comment.”
The softest growl rolled through the air, echoed three times. “I knew it.” Then I was in his arms. “I’m not sure you understand what the thought of you and our toys does to me. Like you were ours before we even knew you.”
Something about the way he said that?—
A knock on the door, and the same woman pushed the door open a fraction. “I sincerely apologize, sirs, but we’re running short on time.”
I smirked up at Cameron. “I said no comment. Who knows what the truth is?”
Releasing me, he slid his hands into his pockets and stared at me with unbridled heat. “I’ll get it out of you later.”
“We’ll see.”
Those green eyes went dark, like a night forest and a hunter within them. “Yes, we will.”
I followed the woman back to the main room, an entirely different set of nerves and anticipation now in my gut.